"Hence, the human heart-mind may be compared to a pan of water. If you place the pan upright and do not stir the water up, the mud will sink to the bottom, and the water on top will be clear and pure [qing ming] enough to see your beard and eyebrows and to examine the lines on your face."
— Xunzi (died after 238 BC)
Author
Work Title
Date
w. c. 238
Metaphor
"Hence, the human heart-mind may be compared to a pan of water. If you place the pan upright and do not stir the water up, the mud will sink to the bottom, and the water on top will be clear and pure [qing ming] enough to see your beard and eyebrows and to examine the lines on your face."
Metaphor in Context
Hence, the human heart-mind may be compared to a pan of water. If you place the pan upright and do not stir the water up, the mud will sink to the bottom, and the water on top will be clear and pure [qing ming] enough to see your beard and eyebrows and to examine the lines on your face. But if a slight wind passes over its surface, the submerged mud will be stirred up from the bottom, and the clarity and purity of the water at the top will be disturbed so that it is impossible to obtain the correct impression of even the general outline of the face. Now, the heart-mind is just the same.
(compare Knoblock p. 107)
(compare Knoblock p. 107)
Categories
Provenance
Reading Erin M. Cline. "Mirrors, Minds, and Metaphors," Philosophy East and West 58:3 (2008): 337-357.
Citation
Compare John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works, vol. 3 (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1994).
Date of Entry
08/19/2013
